Closing Bell: Sensex Closes 87 Points Higher, Nifty Also Ends On Positive Note

The BSE benchmark Sensex closed 87 points higher after a volatile session on Monday, helped by positive Asian equities in the wake of a preliminary trade deal between the US and China. After swinging 448 points, the 30-share Sensex ended 87.39 points, or 0.23 per cent, higher at 38,214.47. It hit an intra-day high of 38,513.69 and a low of 38,066.13.

The broader NSE Nifty too rose 36.10 points, or 0.32 per cent, to end at                  11,341.15. Tata Motors was the top gainer in the Sensex pack rallying 5.32 per cent. ONGC rose 4.73 per cent after Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the state-owned firm was free to sell its stake in the HPCL.

Among other prominent gainers were Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and TCS. On the other hand, Infosys was the top laggard on the index, shedding 3.68 per cent, after the company reported a 2 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit for the July-September quarter.

In the previous session on Friday, the BSE barometer ended 246.68 points, or 0.65 per cent, higher at 38,127.08, and the Nifty rose 66.70 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 11,301.25.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the capital market, infusing Rs 749.74 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 703.02 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.

Domestic equities followed global stocks that rallied after US President Donald Trump announced that US had reached a “very substantial” Phase 1 trade deal with China.

Other losers included Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, L&T, Kotak Bank—dropping up to 2.37 per cent. Besides stock-specific action, domestic equities followed other Asian stocks that rallied on US President Donald Trump’s statement that US had reached a “very substantial” Phase 1 trade deal with China, traders said.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended significantly higher, while those in Europe were trading in the red. On the domestic front, wholesale price index based inflation eased to more than a three-year low of 0.33 per cent in September due to fall in prices of fuel and certain food articles.

Market sentiment, however, remained volatile amid concerns over an economic slowdown after the World Bank said India’s growth rate is projected to fall to 6 per cent after a broad-based deceleration in the initial quarters of this fiscal year, traders said.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee depreciated 13 paise to 71.16 against the US dollar intra-day. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, plunged 2.26 per cent to USD 59.14 per barrel.

(With puts from PTI)